Cross-partition camera system

ABSTRACT

A cross-partition camera includes a magnetic camera and a magnetic backer ring coupled across a partition. The cross-partition camera provides additional functionality to be selectively coupled across a stand, a transparent glass pane, or other partition media. The cross-partition camera also includes magnet holders laterally offset from a frustoconical ring reducing the size. The magnet backer ring is optionally buoyant in water to minimize loss. A scrubber pad on a partition-facing side of the magnetic backer ring cleans the interior surface of the partition. An optional felt pad on the partition-facing side of the magnetic camera facilitates smooth movement of the device on the partition. An light filter is provided to improve video and image quality. The cross-partition camera also includes a USB port for optional internal power supply, image connectivity, a speaker, microphone, and onboard secure data storage through an SD access port for storing images.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims filing priority to U.S. Provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 06/242,022 filed Jun. 24, 2022, which isincorporated fully by reference.

FIGURE FOR PUBLICATION

FIG. 1

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed to optical camera systems and, moreparticularly, to a cross-partition camera with a magnetic camera coupledto a magnetic backer ring positioned on opposing sides of a partition,such as a stand or a glass pane of a fish tank.

Description of the Related Art

Taking pictures or video across a partition, such as a glass pane of afish tank, can be challenging due to reflection at the partitionsurface, contamination on the glass, ambient color of the water, coloredlighting, and other factors. The image quality can be improved byholding the camera perpendicular and close to the partition, and also bycleaning the partition surface. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,731,439 and 8,749,899describe cross-partition lens assemblies with magnetically coupledinterior and exterior housings enabling movement of the exterior housingto control movement of the interior housing.

However, conventional systems are too large, bulky and expensive to besuitable for more modest settings, such as home fish tanks. A continuingneed therefore exists for improved and more cost effectivecross-partition cameras.

ASPECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

At least one of the aspects of the present invention is to provide animprovement over the related art.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an improvementwherein the needs described above are met in a cross-partition camerathat includes a magnetic camera and a magnetic backer ring coupledacross a partition. Unlike conventional fish tank cameras, thecross-partition camera provides additional functionality allowing it tobe selectively suspended form different types of partitions, such as astand, glass pane, or fish tank wall. The cross-partition camera alsoincludes magnet holder ears laterally offset from a frustoconical ringreducing the size and cost of the housings. Additional features includea buoyant backer ring, a scrubber pad on the partition-facing side ofthe magnetic backer ring to clean the interior surface of the partition(e.g., fish tank), and a felt pad on the partition-facing side of themagnetic camera to facilitate smooth movement of the device on thepartition. The cross-partition camera also includes a USB port forconnectivity, a light sensor, LED lighting, supplemental LED lightingfor low-light photography, a speaker, speaker access, microphone,microphone access, and onboard SD data card. The cross-partition cameramay optionally include optical filters, such as colored optical filtersto enhance contract and diminish certain unwanted colors, such as thecolors of the fish take water or fish tank lighting, while enhancingother desired colors, such as the colors of fish and other photographysubjects inside the fish tank. The cross-partition camera may optionallyinclude wireless communication functionality such as Wi-Fi connectivityto a local network or optionally cellular operation features for linkingand placing cellular indicators or receiving cellular commands.

According to an optional and adaptive embodiment of the presentinvention, there is provided a cross-partition camera system,comprising, a magnetic camera; a magnetic backer ring operative tocouple with the magnetic camera to remain movably suspended across apartition; wherein the magnetic camera and the magnetic backer ringdefine magnet holder ears housing magnets laterally offset from afrustoconical ring of the backer ring; and wherein the magnetic backerring is buoyant in water when uncoupled from the magnetic camera.

According to another optional and adaptive embodiment of the presentinvention, there is provided a cross-partition camera system, wherein,the magnetic camera further comprises a USB port and a removable SDmemory card.

According to another optional and adaptive embodiment of the presentinvention, there is provided a cross-partition camera system, furthercomprising, a scrubber pad positioned on a partition-facing side of themagnetic backer ring.

According to another optional and adaptive embodiment of the presentinvention, there is provided a cross-partition camera system, wherein,the scrubber pad is operative for cleaning a portion of a side of thepartition as the magnetic camera is manually moved around on thepartition while remaining magnetically coupled to the partition.

According to another optional and adaptive embodiment of the presentinvention, there is provided a cross-partition camera system, furthercomprising, a felt pad on a partition-facing side of the magneticcamera.

According to another optional and adaptive embodiment of the presentinvention, there is provided a cross-partition camera system, wherein,the felt pad is operative for facilitating smooth movement of themagnetic camera as the magnetic camera is manually moved around on thepartition while remaining magnetically coupled to the partition.

According to another optional and adaptive embodiment of the presentinvention, there is provided a cross-partition camera system, furthercomprising, an optical filter positioned across a lens of the magneticcamera.

According to another optional and adaptive embodiment of the presentinvention, there is provided a cross-partition camera system, wherein,the optical filter is orange colored to filter out blue light.

According to another optional and adaptive embodiment of the presentinvention, there is provided a cross-partition camera system, wherein,the optical filter is removable.

According to another optional and adaptive embodiment of the presentinvention, there is provided a cross-partition camera system, furthercomprising, a plurality of selectable removable optical filters shapedfor positioning across a lens of the magnetic camera.

According to another optional and adaptive embodiment of the presentinvention, there is provided a cross-partition camera system, wherein,the plurality of selectable removable optical filters comprises aplurality of orange colored filter of different color depth to filterdifferent amounts of blue light.

According to another optional and adaptive embodiment of the presentinvention, there is provided a cross-partition camera system, furthercomprising, a light source for projecting light away from the magneticcamera toward a focal region of the magnetic camera.

According to another optional and adaptive embodiment of the presentinvention, there is provided a cross-partition camera system, wherein,the partition further comprises, a removable stand and thecross-partition camera system is configured for magnetic coupling acrossa glass pane after removal from the stand.

According to another optional and adaptive embodiment of the presentinvention, there is provided a cross-partition camera system, wherein,the partition comprises a glass pane.

According to another optional and adaptive embodiment of the presentinvention, there is provided a cross-partition camera system,comprising, a magnetic camera; a magnetic backer ring operative tocouple with the magnetic camera to remain movably suspended across apartition; wherein the magnetic camera and the magnetic backer ringdefine magnet holder ears housing magnets laterally offset from afrustoconical ring of the backer ring; wherein the magnetic backer ringis buoyant in water when uncoupled from the magnetic camera. furthercomprising, a scrubber pad on a partition-facing side of the magneticbacker ring operative for cleaning the partition opposite thepartition-facing side of the magnetic backer ring as the cross-partitioncamera system is manually moved around on the partition while remainingmagnetically coupled to the partition; and further comprising, a feltpad on a partition-facing side of the magnetic camera operative forfacilitating facilitate smooth movement of the device on thecross-partition camera as the cross-partition camera system is manuallymoved around on the partition while remaining magnetically coupled tothe partition.

According to another optional and adaptive embodiment of the presentinvention, there is provided a cross-partition camera system, furthercomprising, a plurality of selectable removable optical filters shapedfor positioning across a lens of the magnetic camera.

According to another optional and adaptive embodiment of the presentinvention, there is provided a cross-partition camera system, wherein,the partition comprises a removable stand.

According to another optional and adaptive embodiment of the presentinvention, there is provided a cross-partition camera system,comprising, a magnetic camera; a magnetic backer ring operative tocouple with the magnetic camera to remain movably suspended across apartition; wherein the magnetic camera and the magnetic backer ringdefine magnet holder ears housing magnets laterally offset from afrustoconical ring of the backer ring; wherein the magnetic backer ringis buoyant in water when uncoupled from the magnetic camera; and furthercomprising, an optical filter positioned across a lens of the magneticcamera.

According to another optional and adaptive embodiment of the presentinvention, there is provided a cross-partition camera system, wherein,the optical filter is orange colored to filter out blue light.

According to another optional and adaptive embodiment of the presentinvention, there is provided a cross-partition camera system, wherein,the optical filter is one of a plurality of selectable optical filtersof different color depth to filter out different amounts of blue light.

It will be understood that specific embodiments may include a variety offeatures in different combinations, and that all of the featuresdescribed in this disclosure, or any particular set of features, needsto be included in particular embodiments. The specific techniques andstructures for implementing particular embodiments of the invention andaccomplishing the associated advantages will become apparent from thefollowing detailed description of the embodiments and the appendeddrawings and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The numerous advantages of the embodiments of the invention may bebetter understood with reference to the representative embodiments shownin the accompanying figures.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cross-partition camera system in astand arrangement.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the cross-partition camera system coupledacross a stand arrangement as in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a side view of the cross-partition camera system coupledacross a glass partition.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the cross-partition camera system with anexemplary stand arrangement.

FIGS. 5A-5C show a magnetic ring housing of the cross-partition camerasystem.

FIGS. 6A-6C show a front housing plate of the cross-partition camerasystem.

FIGS. 7A-7B show a scrubber pad of the cross-partition camera system.

FIGS. 8A-8D show a front housing plate of the cross-partition camerasystem.

FIGS. 9A-9D show a main camera housing of the cross-partition camerasystem.

FIGS. 10A-10D show a felt pad of the cross-partition camera andassociated optical filters system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made to illustrative embodiments of the inventionshown in the drawings. In general, the same or similar referencenumerals are used in the drawings and the description to refer to thesame or like parts or steps. The drawings are in simplified form and arenot to precise scale. The word “couple” and similar terms do notnecessarily denote direct and immediate connections, but also includeconnections through intermediate elements or devices. For purposes ofdescriptive convenience and clarity, directional (upper/lower,left/right, inner/outer, etc.) or motional (up/down, forward/back, etc.)terms may be used to describe to the drawings. These and similarrelative terms should not be construed to limit the scope of the claimedinvention. Elements may be positioned differently than shown in thedrawings or stated in written description with reference to theillustrative embodiments. It will therefore be understood that otherembodiments may be utilized within the scope of the claimed invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cross-partition camera 30 assembly orsystem, which includes a magnetic backer ring 32 assembly or system anda magnetic camera assembly 34 (magnetic camera 34) magnetically coupledto each other across a partition, in this example a magneticallytransmissive stand 36. The strength of the magnetic coupling allows thebacker ring and retained camera to be readily moved around on thepartition by hand, with movement of the camera causing the backer ringto remain coupled, resist unintended separation and follow as a resultof the magnetic coupling. The retained camera 34 and backer ring 32 canalso be easily removed by hand from the partition so they can berelocated and placed across another partition, such as a glass pane of afish tank or any other suitable location such as a front door, vehiclewindow, outside window, or other location suitable for camera mounting.The magnetic backer ring 32 and magnetic camera 34 include respectivelyone or more magnet holder ears 38, which are, in this embodiment, shownlaterally offset from a frustoconical ring 39 or the magnetic camera 34(See FIG. 4 ) projecting outwardly and thereby reducing the size andcost of the housings. The backer ring 32 is buoyant in water so that itfloats to the surface in the event that it becomes separated from themagnetic camera 34 under water, for example on the inside of a fishtank.

It will be understood that the buoyancy of backer ring 32 may beprovided by alternative and adaptive mechanisms, such that a foamfilling (buoyant) in closed or open celled foam or air bladders or aircells (both not shown) may be used to prevent backer ring 32 sinkingshould there be unintentional magnetic separation from camera 34.

It will be understood that the present frustoconical ring may be of anysuitable shape or size to accomplish the required steps, and particularso that such a surrounding retaining ring have an opening to allow thecameras electronic image sensor and lens (and optional flash orlighting) arrangement, or for enabling multiple camera mountings on anoutside of partition 34 and to function without departing from the scopeand spirit of the present invention.

The lightweight construction of the cross-partition camera 30 allows itto be readily moved by hand from one partition to another. For example,FIG. 2 is a side view of the cross-partition camera 30 showing themagnetic backer ring 32 and magnetic camera 34 coupled across the stand36, while FIG. 3 shows the backer ring and camera coupled across a glasspartition 40, such as a glass pane of a fish tank. The magnetic backerring 32 and magnetic camera 34 each house a pair of magnets 7 opposingeach other to magnetically couple the backer ring with the camera acrossthe partition. The camera 34 also includes a USB port 37 visible inthese views.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the cross-partition camera 30(alternatively as shown in FIGS. 1-2 , and FIG. 3 (where there is aglass partition). The magnetic backer ring 32 includes a magnet ringhousing 3 (“housing, ring, housing”) shown in greater detail in FIGS.5A-5D, a pair of magnets 7,7, a magnet retainer plate 13 (“plate,retainer, magnet”) shown in greater detail FIGS. 6A-6D, and a scrubberpad 10 (“pad, Velcro®, hook”, or ‘spacer’) shown in greater detail FIGS.7A-7B and FIGS. 10A-10D where the scrubber pad may additionally mount afilter (as will be discussed later). The various molded housings, platesand other formed components may be fabricated from any suitable plastic,such as polystyrene or acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). Selecteddesignated components of the cross-partition camera 30 are listed inTable 1 and referenced additionally in FIG. 4 .

TABLE 1 Item Description QTY 1 COVER for SD port (scan disk(SD) accesscover) 1 2 HOUSING, FRONT 1 3 HOUSING, MAGNET, RING 1 4 HOUSING, MAIN 15 LENS, LED 1 6 LENS, SENSOR 1 7 MAGNET, optionally of a magnetic type 4known as D43-N53 8 NUT, PEM 1/4-20 - 056 - STAINLESS STEEL 1 9 PAD, FELT1 10 PAD, VELCRO, HOOK (SCRUBBER) 1 11 PCB, CAMERA (one or moreco-mounted on PCB) 1 12 PCB, SENSOR 1 13 PLATE, RETAINER, MAGNET 1 30(noted also as CROSS-PARTITION CAMERA 30) 1 15 SCREW 2 16 SCREW 4 17SPEAKER AND MICROPHONE 1 18 STAND, BASE 1 19 STAND, FACEPLATE 1 20STAND, PIVOT, PIN 2 21 STAND, RUBBER, FOOT 1 22 SD PORT 1 23 HINGE PIN 124 SUPPLEMENTAL LIGHT SOURCE LED 4 37 USB PORT 1

The cross-partition camera 30 also includes a USB port 37 forconnectivity, a light sensor 6, LED lighting 5, supplemental LEDlighting 24 for low-light photography, a speaker and microphone 17, andrearwardly positioned a speaker access 80 port (see FIG. 9A, 9B) forsound release from the housing, and an onboard SD (Scan Disk) port 22for receiving an SD (Scan Disk) data card for storing photo or videodata files. The cross-partition camera 30 (cross-partition cameraassembly, or unit, or kit) may optionally include light-optical filters100, 100 a, 100 b . . . -100 n (alternative multiple light filtermembranes) shown in FIGS. 10 -A-10D, which may be sold and packagedseparately in one or more light filter-membrane kits (not shown), andmay be filters such as colored optical filters (photo/video filters) toenhance contract and diminish certain unwanted colors, such as thecolors of the fish take water or fish tank lighting or their interactionor use of IR or other desired wavelength spectrums, while enhancingother desired colors, such as the colors of fish and other photographysubjects inside the fish tank. The camera 11 utilizes a light sensor 6to determine the ambient light level for controlling the light source(LED) 5 projecting light toward a focal region of the magnetic camera.Supplemental light sources (LEDs) 23 man be included to provideadditional light projection, for example to aid in low-light andhigh-speed photography, toward a focal region of the magnetic camera.The felt pad 9 facilitates smooth movement of the cross-partition camera30 on one side of the partition, while the scrubber 10 (also in the formof a felt pad or other scrubber form) cleans a portion of the oppositeside of the partition, when the camera is manually moved around whileremaining magnetically coupled to the partition. It will be understoodthat the optical filters 100 may be positioned in one or both ofscrubber 10 or felt pad 9 (or both) depending upon the adaptiveembodiment considered and such optionality is within the scope of thepresent disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 5A-5C, the magnet ring housing 3 includes a pair ofmagnet holders 50 a-50 b extending laterally into respective magnetholder ears 52 a-52 b. The magnet ring housing 3 four engagement slots54 a-54 d for receiving engagement members 60 a-60 d (see FIGS. 6A-6C).The magnetic backer ring 32 is buoyant allowing it to float if itbecomes uncoupled from the magnetic camera while under water, forexample inside a fish tank. Buoyancy may be achieved in several ways,such as fabricating the magnet ring housing 3 by over-molding a plasticcover layer over a closed-cell core, such as expanded polyethylene foamor any other suitable closed-cell material. Alternatively, the magnetring housing 3 may be fabricated entirely from a closed-cell material,or include a closed-cell portion, such as the frustoconical section,attached to a molded plastic base plate. As another alternative, themagnet ring housing 3 may enclose one or more sealed air chambers.

Referring to FIGS. 6A-6C, the magnet retainer plate 13 includes fourengagement members 60 a-60 d that engage with respective engagementslots 54 a-54 d of magnet ring housing 3 (see FIGS. 5A-5C) capturing thebatteries 7 between the magnet ring housing 3 and the magnet retainerplate. Referring to FIGS. 7A-7B, the scrubber pad 10 is adhered to thepartition-facing side of the magnet retainer plate 13. This allows theuser to move magnetic camera 34 around on the partition the clean theopposing side of the partition, for example on the inside of a fishtank. The hook portion of a hook-and-loop fastener (Velcro) works wellfor this purpose.

Referring again to FIG. 4 , the stand 39 includes a stand base 18, afaceplate 19, a rubber foot 21, and a pivot pin 20, 23 with nut 8. Themagnetic camera 34 includes the remaining elements identified on FIG. 4including, among others, the front housing plate 2 (“housing, front” inthe legend on FIG. 4 ) shown in greater detail on FIGS. 8A-8D, the maincamera housing 4 (“housing, main” in the legend on FIG. 4 ) shown ingreater detail on FIGS. 9A-9D, and the felt pad 9 (“pad, felt” in thelegend on FIG. 4 ) shown in greater detail on FIGS. 10A-10B. FIG. 10Cshows an alternative felt pad 10 including an optional colored filtermembrane 100 at the center of the pad. FIG. 10D illustrates multipleselectable felt pads 10 a-10 n, each with a different respective opticalfilter 100 a-100 n allowing the user to remove and replace the filter.This allows different filters to be selected to diminish differentcolors of light. In general, a colored optical filter diminishes itsopposite color on the color wheel. For example, an orange colored willblock diminish blue light, a red filter will diminish cyan light, amagenta will diminish green light, and so forth. For underwaterphotography, such as fish tank photography, diminishing blue lite isoften desired to improve the contrast for images taken in waterilluminated by blue lights, and a magenta filter may be selected toimprove the contrast for images taken in water illuminated by greenlights. For this purpose, the optical filters 100 a . . . -100 n mayinclude orange filters with different depths of orange tint to vary theamount of contrast imparted by the filers.

The particular invention herein and above is not limited thereto, andthose includes operational arrangements intended to be included, forexample, the camera system may include a battery-related power supply soas to not rely on external power sourcing, and this power supply may berechargeable and optionally may be linked with a solar-chargingarrangement (not shown).

A further alternative aspect of the present invention is that the cameramay be operable via a cellular network and contain the required cellularnetwork connectivity elements such as antenna, power boosters, signalencoders etc.

The particular invention is not limited to the embodiment illustrated inthe images herein, and may include any structures or shapes effective toaccomplish the claims noted below without departing from the scope andspirit of the present invention. In a non-limiting example, the felt pad10 is intended to be a surface friendly and non-damaging laminar membertransmissive to magic fields and could be of any material effective forthat purpose, such as a smooth plastic sheet or film, a thin cellulosemember (paper based or otherwise), thin ferromagnetic sheet ormagnetic-transmissive sheet material etc. This pad may be combined(optionally, see FIG. 10C) with a light filter in the same combined‘pad’ member and may be of any non-limited shape and need not match theexternal shape of the camera mount 34.

Additionally, it will be recognized by those of skill in this art havingstudied the entire disclosure herein that the inner ring (shownfrustoconical) may be provided in other shapes effective to accomplishthe claims noted without departing from the scope and spirit of thepresent invention. In a non-limiting example, the ‘round’ ring 32 mayhave any other shape (oval, polygon, irregular) effective to maintain orgenerate a positive buoyancy, pass-through reflected light (from theimaging region (tank) to the camera), and aid in the alternative‘cleaning’ feature using the backer 10. It will be similarly understoodby those of skill in this art that backer 10 may be of any materialeffective to aid in minimizing damage to the glass, to bemagnetic-transmissive, to aid in cleaning the viewing surface whilebeing guided by hand manipulation of the extra-tank-positioned cameramember.

In yet another alternative and optional embodiment, it will beunderstood by those of skill in this art having studied the disclosureherein that the use of magnetic attraction (to secure the inner memberand outer retained camera through an optical member or support standmember) may accommodate improvement in the magnetic materials arts. Suchthat, magnetic members of enhanced strength may be on only-one-side ofthe assembly and the other-side assembly may be ferromagnetic (attractedto magnetics) such as by the use of iron/Fe containing materials. As afurther example, the front retaining ring may include a magnet ormagnetic material formed as a ring with a complementary magnet ormagnetic material in the retained camera assembly. As a result, it willbe recognized that the present invention may be readily modified whileremaining within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.

In another alternative embodiment it will be recognized that thehousings 32, 34, and stand 36 may be provided in any shape effective toaccomplish the intended uses herein without departing from the scope andspirit of the present embodiment. For a non-limiting example, theside-wing-shapes (holding magnet members) may be fully internalized orformed in another shape. For example, the ‘wings’ may be eliminated andall magnetic members be retained within backer 32, or extensions may bein a surrounding ridge (a continuous lip), or may be in alternatingextensions (multiple more-than-two) and having different shapes,polygons, different-profiles etc. As such, those of skill in this artwill recognize that nothing herein is intended to limit the shape of theillustrative embodiment shown so that those of skill in this art willrecognize that different shapes may be within the scope and spirit ofthe present invention without being narrowed to the shapes shown in thedrawings.

The inventors intend that only those claims which use the specific andexact phrase “means for” are intended to be interpreted under 35 USC112. The structure herein is noted and well supported in the entiredisclosure. Moreover, no limitations from the specification are intendedto be read into any claims, unless those limitations are expresslyincluded in the claims. It is noted herein that PCB is recognizedgenerally as printed circuit board or other support for solid stateelectronics as operative for the purposes herein.

Having described at least one of the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, it willbe apparent to those skills that the invention is not limited to thoseprecise embodiments, and that various modifications and variations canbe made in the presently disclosed system without departing from thescope or spirit of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the presentdisclosure covers modifications and variations of this disclosureprovided they come within the scope of the appended claims and theirequivalents.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A cross-partition camera system,comprising: a magnetic camera; a magnetic backer ring operative tocouple with the magnetic camera to remain movably suspended across apartition; wherein the magnetic camera and the magnetic backer ringdefine magnet holder ears housing magnets laterally offset from afrustoconical ring of the backer ring; and wherein the magnetic backerring is buoyant in water when uncoupled from the magnetic camera.
 2. Thecross-partition camera system of claim 1, wherein: the magnetic camerafurther comprises a USB port and a removable SD memory card.
 3. Thecross-partition camera system of claim 1, further comprising: a scrubberpad positioned on a partition-facing side of the magnetic backer ring.4. The cross-partition camera system of claim 3, wherein: the scrubberpad is operative for cleaning a portion of a side of the partition asthe magnetic camera is manually moved around on the partition whileremaining magnetically coupled to the partition.
 5. The cross-partitioncamera system of claim 1, further comprising: a felt pad on apartition-facing side of the magnetic camera.
 6. The cross-partitioncamera system of claim 5, wherein: the felt pad is operative forfacilitating smooth movement of the magnetic camera as the magneticcamera is manually moved around on the partition while remainingmagnetically coupled to the partition.
 7. The cross-partition camerasystem of claim 1, further comprising: an optical filter positionedacross a lens of the magnetic camera.
 8. The cross-partition camerasystem of claim 7, wherein: the optical filter is orange colored tofilter out blue light.
 9. The cross-partition camera system of claim 7,wherein: the optical filter is removable.
 10. The cross-partition camerasystem of claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of selectableremovable optical filters shaped for positioning across a lens of themagnetic camera.
 11. The cross-partition camera system of claim 1,wherein: the plurality of selectable removable optical filters comprisesa plurality of orange colored filter of different color depth to filterdifferent amounts of blue light.
 12. The cross-partition camera systemof claim 1, further comprising: a light source for projecting light awayfrom the magnetic camera toward a focal region of the magnetic camera.13. The cross-partition camera system of claim 1, wherein: the partitionfurther comprises: a removable stand and the cross-partition camerasystem is configured for magnetic coupling across a glass pane afterremoval from the stand.
 14. The cross-partition camera system of claim1, wherein: the partition comprises a glass pane.
 15. A cross-partitioncamera system, comprising: a magnetic camera; a magnetic backer ringoperative to couple with the magnetic camera to remain movably suspendedacross a partition; wherein the magnetic camera and the magnetic backerring define magnet holder ears housing magnets laterally offset from afrustoconical ring of the backer ring; wherein the magnetic backer ringis buoyant in water when uncoupled from the magnetic camera; furthercomprising: a pad on a partition-facing side of the magnetic backer ringoperative for cleaning the partition opposite the partition-facing sideof the magnetic backer ring as the cross-partition camera system ismanually moved around on the partition while remaining magneticallycoupled to the partition; and further comprising: a pad on apartition-facing side of the magnetic camera operative for facilitatingfacilitate smooth movement of the device on the cross-partition cameraas the cross-partition camera system is manually moved around on thepartition while remaining magnetically coupled to the partition.
 16. Thecross-partition camera system of claim 15, further comprising: aplurality of selectable removable optical filters shaped for positioningacross a lens of the magnetic camera.
 17. The cross-partition camerasystem of claim 1, wherein: the partition comprises a removable stand.18. A cross-partition camera system, comprising: a magnetic camera; amagnetic backer ring operative to couple with the magnetic camera toremain movably suspended across a partition; wherein the magnetic cameraand the magnetic backer ring define magnet holder ears housing magnetslaterally offset from a frustoconical ring of the backer ring; whereinthe magnetic backer ring is buoyant in water when uncoupled from themagnetic camera; and further comprising: an optical filter positionedacross a lens of the magnetic camera.
 19. The cross-partition camerasystem of claim 18, wherein: the optical filter is orange colored tofilter out blue light.
 20. The cross-partition camera system of claim18, wherein: the optical filter is one of a plurality of selectableoptical filters of different color depth to filter out different amountsof blue light.